A personal injury firm has said it will pay other firms to take on their serious case work through a new network – but said the arrangement does not involve prohibited referral fees. 

National firm Minster Law yesterday announced PiRPLE, a network for firms that might not have the specialism, capacity or funding to run such cases but want to find a home for them. Minster said the network is free to join and supported by a secure digital recommendation process compliant with the rules set out by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) and enforced through Solicitors Regulation Authority regulations.

Clients review and submit their information directly to Minster, and where a case is assessed and accepted. Participating firms have the option to receive a ‘recommendation fee’ linked to the value of the claim.

Shirley Woolham, Minster Law chief executive, said: ‘These claims require significant expertise, resource and funding over several years, while the firm may have a longstanding relationship with the client that it wants to protect.'

'PiRPLE provides those firms with access to Minster’s serious injury expertise through a straightforward recommendation process, while providing the option for a commercial return where we assess and accept the case.’

She added that as a personal injury specialist rather than a full-service firm, Minster could offer reassurance it was not looking to compete with participating firms for other areas of their clients’ work.

PiRPLE will consider intermediate and multi-track claims from £25,000 through to catastrophic injury claims valued at more than £1m. Its focus will include road traffic accident, employers’ liability, public liability and occupiers’ liability claims.

Woolham added: ‘PiRPLE gives us a new route to further growth through extending our partnership model to law firms across England and Wales.'

‘We know it will take time to build the network. Our focus now is on developing the relationships with firms that see a role for Minster’s serious injury capability alongside their own.’